Painted Old Books

There are always a bunch of projects going on at the exact same time. Sometimes it's a big project that takes a long time to complete, and other times are a variety of small projects the ones that pop up and keep us busy. Well, at this moment I have a combination of both of them.

I'm still working on updating the living room, I've been adding crown molding, the chunkier baseboards, trimming the windows and the big doors in between rooms, and that's taking me lots of time, especially the later one, with all the little pieces that need to be added on both sides of the opening. The other little projects I've been tackling are finishing the organization of the drawers in the kitchen and setting my office in the dining room. Boo. And of course there is something else that I don't remember at this moment. :)

The project today, painting a bunch of old books, is one of those small projects that pops up, but it's something that was in my to do list for a very long time, Even though they're supposed to go to the office, I know I'm going to use them all around the house.

I scored a big bunch of these books, most of them big law books, that once the laws changed, they're discarded. They were the perfect candidates for this project. My daughter thought I was nuts and didn't want me to paint them. I assured her it was only the cover the one to be painted and that she could read all those books as soon as the paint was dry.

Homemade chalk paint was the one I used, the one you make with plaster of Paris. I followed this recipe here, using regular flat wall paint.

Two coats were necessary, letting the paint dry in between coats.

I gave them a light sanding to smooth out the roughness of the chalk paint. The edges got lightly distressed.

Just for fun, I created some romantic titles with my favorite new tool, the Silhouette Cameo.
You can download those Silhouette titles HERE.

In an all Valentine's day spirit, they're gracing this vignette in my family room.

Cristina,Love your painted books with their bright red titles... I have a new Silhouette machine,,, still in the box... no judging. Soon I should be able to have time to discover all the fabulous projects that I can make using it.